Players from Manchester United and Manchester City suffered World Cup heartache as Brazil and the Netherlands fell to penalty shoot-out losses to Croatia and Argentina, respectively.
In the case of Brazil, Neymar’s dazzling goal in the first-half of extra time looked to have won it for the pre-tournament favourites but Bruno Petkovic’s deflected effort in the second period dampened the carnival atmosphere to take it to penalties.
Casemiro hammered home his spot kick but Pedro was the only other Brazilian to convert as they fell to a 4-2 spot-kick defeat.
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Casemiro started his fourth match in Qatar while Antony came on ten minutes after the break in regulation time with the game still goalless after a tight first half. Midfielder Casemiro - who swapped shirts with Luka Modric at the break - defended the back line tranquilly before pushing on in the second half.
United clubmate Antony looked bright and certainly provided a spark when he got the ball, driving forward to win corners and free-kicks and going squaring off with Ivan Perisic at one point.
Meanwhile, Fred came on for the second half of extra time to shore up the midfield in anticipation of a Croatian onslaught, also breaking forward on the odd occasion.
City ’s Ederson held his spot on the bench as Alisson failed to save a penalty in the shoot-out. The frustrations of extra time rocketed when Marquinhos hit Brazil's fourth spot kick against the post.
Meanwhile, Lisandro Martinez became the first Reds player to make it through to the semi-finals of the World Cup thanks to Argentina's shoot-out win over the Netherlands. The centre-back started his second match of the tournament but was forced to play through the penalties after conceding two late goals.
Lautaro Martinez's winning spot kick spared their blushes and keeps Lionel Messi's World Cup dream alive at the expense of Tyrell Malacia's.
The left-back failed to come onto the pitch all tournament, his biggest contribution coming during a squad brawl started by Leandro Parades after whacking the ball into the Dutch bench. City striker Julian Alvarez started the game before being replaced before full-time.
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